Track-sander and brake-shoe.



PATBNTED MAY. 1906-.'

B. B. KEBPE. A A TRACK SANDER AND BRAKE sHoEs-L.

APPLIOATIONIILED 00T.11, 1905.

@fk5 invento r.

Attorneys PATENTBD" MAY s, 1906..

E. E. KEEFE. TRACK SANDER AND BRAKE SHOES.

AYPLIOATION FILED 001211, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

entor.

- witnesses Attorneys l U NrrEn STATES PATENT oEEroE.

EUGENE E. KEEFE, OF BELLOWS FALLS, VERMONT.

TRACK-SANDER AND BRAKE-SHOE- fNo. 819,762.

To all whom t ntay concern.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE E. KEEFE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bellows Falls, in the county of lVindham and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful ,Track-Sander and Brake- Shoe, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for controllinglthe movement of wheeled vehicles, such as street-railway cars, locomotives, and

railway-cars generally.

One object of the invention is to provide means for feeding suitable material to a brake-shoe, a gritty or abrading material being supplied between the brake-shoe and the tread of the wheel when the movement is to be stopped or retarded and a lubricating material being 'applied to the ange of the wheel While the car or train is rounding curves.

. A further object of the invention is to provide a brake-shoe having grooves inY its friction-surface for the reception of a gritty or abrading material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brake-shoe having a passage leading to the friction-surface of the shoe and to provide means for feeding a gritty or abrading material through such passage.

. A still further object of the invention is to rovide a means forfeeding a gritty or abradingmaterial to a brake-shoe and to the brake.

A'still further object of the invention is to provide a brake-shoe having passages so arranged as to feed a gritty or abrading material'partly between the friction-surface of the shoe and the wheel and partly to the track.

,A :still further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of simple character for controlling the flow of material from the sand box or other reservoir to the point of application.

- A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatic sand-valve operable from one Aof thevehicle-wheels.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly. pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of thestructure'A may` be made without departing from ?atented May 8, 1906.

the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is aview in sectional elevation of the lower front portion of a railway-car provided with tracksanding and braking apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the principal parts ofthe mechanism, the housing or supports being shown 1n section. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the brake-shoe. Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in section, of a modified form of valveoperating mechanism for controlling the fiow gf sand or similar material from the sand- Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The apparatus forming the subject-of the present invention is illustratediii the present yinstance in connection with a street-railway car A, this being merely typical of the vehicle, and it is to be understood that the device may be applied with equal facility to locomotives or rolling-stock of any character.

-The brake-shoe 10 is formed of metal cast or otherwise shaped, and in the face thereof is arranged a groove or grooves 11, two grooves being shown in the present instance extending on curved lines lengthwise of the shoe and meeting at the upper and lower ends. These grooves are designed to receive sand or other material, and when the shoe is forced ,against the periphery of the wheel comparatively light pressure 1s all that is necessary to check the movement of the -veh1c1e,

without locking the wheel and skidding, this latter operation resulting in the flattening of the wheels-and necessitatmg turning. Should light skidding result, any flattened places may be removed, owing to the abrading action of the sand or other material between thev brake-shoe and the periphery of the wheel, so that the device not only minimizes wheel in case flattening should accidentally occur. The brake-shoe is hung in any suitable manner and is connected to a brakebeam 12 of the usual type. In the upper portion, of the brake-shoe is formed a passage 15, divided into two branches 16 and 17, the form`er extending to the top of the grooves 11, while the latter runs entirely through .the

so that the car or other vehicle may be stopped the danger of flattening, but redresses the- IOO brake-shoe to permit the flow of sand or other material to the surface of the track at a point in front of the wheel.

On the car is arranged a sand box or reservoir 18, that 'preferably is provided with an electric heater 19 in case of an electricallypropelled car, the heater serving to dryl the sand and expel any moisture, so that the sand may iiow freely from the" box. This box is connected to the upper end of the brake-shoe 'by a hose 20, that preferably is flexible to -permit the necessary movement of the brakeshoe, and the connection between the box and the tube is formed by a valve-casing 21, in which is arranged a suitable lvalve 22. This valve carries a stem 23, that extends outside the casing, and is connected to the up- 1per end of a lever 24, that is pivoted on a anger 25. The lower end of the lever is connected b a rod 26 to a friction-shoe 27, arran ed a ove the tread of the wheel and normal y held out of contact therewith by a helical tension-spring 28. The valve is retained` in closed posltion by a spring 30, which may be coiled around the rod 26, one end of the spring bearing against a hanger 31 and the other against la collar 32, that is secured to the rod;

Pivoted to the hanger 31 is a lever 34, the rear end of which extends through a bracket 35, that is secured to the upper end of the shoe 27, and the opposite end of said lever is provided with a slot 36 for the reception ofa 1n 37, carried by a lever 38, ivoted on a anger 39, depending from the oor or frame of the car. The front end of the lever 38 carries a pedal-rod 40, extending through a guiding-opening in the floor of the car within convenient reach of the motorrnan or other operator, and when the brake is to be. applied comparatively light pressure on the pedalrod 40 will be transmitted through the several levers to the friction-shoe 27, forcing the latter down into engagement with the tread` of the Wheel. The friction-block will be carriedsforward as the-wheel rotates, and this movement will be transmitted to the valvestem, opening the valve'and allowing the sand or other materialto' .How from the box down through the tube 20, a portionof'the sand passing through the ooved face of the brake-'shoe and the remain er passing through the passage 17 and falling to the track. "The brake-shoe may be forced against a wheel by hand or other power. When pressure on the pedal-rod 40 is relieved, the spring 28 raises the friction-shoe from contact with the wheel and the spring 30 moves the valve to lits closed osition;

In th cross-head 44,'having rollers 4 5 at its oppoe construction shown in Fig. 4 the i. stem 23 of the valve 22 is provided with a the valve will be opened to allow the owof l sand. During the winter months, when ice and snow accumulate on the tracks, it is preferred to place in the sand-box a mixture of sand and salt, which when distributed on the` tracks will serve to melt the ice, and thus vkeep the tracks clear.

A braking apparatus constructed in ac.- cordance with this invention may, as above described, be applied to locomotives or cars of any description, and owing to the friction exerte'd between the brake-'shoe and the wheel-tread the motion will be quicklyarrested.- The surfaces of the Wheels will, moreover, be kept true, and anyiattening may be remedied by the wearing away of the wheeltread by attrition.

In rounding curves at'hig'h s 'eed there is considerable frictional wear etween l'the flanges of the wheels and the inner edges of the rails, and to overcome this means are employed for feeding a lubricating material to the innerv edge of the flange. The brakeshoe is provided with a third passage 52 having a discharge-opening 53 arranged at one side of the shoe, so that material having hrbricating properties may be fedthrough said asf with a chamber56, having a downwardlyopening valve 57, the chamber Abeing normally filled with oil from the reservoir. .When the plunger is depressed, the oil inthe v chamber-is forced past the valve and communication between the chamber andmain res.-

ervoir is closed for the time being. Whenpressure on the plunger isrelie'ved, the valve4 closes, and the plunger in moving upward again establishes communication between the reservoir and the chamber.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed isv `1. A wheel-brake shoe having agrooved face, and means for feedin sand thereto.

2. A wheel-brake shoe a'vingv a grooved face and provided with a assage leadin from the groove, and means or feeding sand throu h'said passage. ,l

wheel-brake shoe, having a passage leading 'vertically throuo'h the shoe from the upper to the lower end tiereof for conveying sand to the track, and means for directing sand into said assage.

4. In a whee -brake shoe attack-sander, a sand-box. and a duct leading from the box to a point adj accnt to tht` track, the brake-shoe having a passage forming a part of said duct.

5. A wheel-brake shoe liavinfJr two sandpassages, ontl for conveying santi to the face of the shoe, and the other for directing sand to the track.

6. In combination, a wheel-brake shoe, a sand-box, and a flexible pipe connecting the two.

7. In combination, a wheel-brake shoe, a. sand-box, a flexible pipe connecting the two, and a valve for controlling the flow of sand from the box.

8. A brake-shoe having a passage through which a lubricating material may be fed againstthe flange of the Wheel.

Q. A brake-shoe havin@ a lubricant-passage terminating at a disc arge-point at one side of the shoe, and a reservoir to which said passage is connected.

10. The combination with a brake-shoe having a lubricant-passage, of a lubriantreservoir, and means for -forcing predetermined quantities of lubricant to said passage.

11. In combination, a sand-box, a,brake shoe having a sand-passage, a flexible tube leading from the sand-box to the brake-shoe and in communication with said passage, a

valve for controlling the How of sand through the tube, a friction-block, means for forcing said friction-block against one of t-he vehiclewheels,and means whereby the movement transmitted from the wheel to the block effects opening' movement of the valve.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afi'ixed my signature in the presence of tw witnesses.

EUGENE E. KEEFE Witnesses J. E. MCGREEN, W. J. DoRsEY. 

